STERLING -- Two women have been arrested in connection to the shooting at the Sinclair Station on Highway 63 in Atwood Sunday. They both face charges of attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault.

Twenty-seven-year-old Leticia Lilly Hernandez of Greeley and Monica Isabel Baray, 28, of Evans, were formally charged at an advisement hearing Monday in Logan County District Court, where they received a combined bond of $1.5 million.

According to accounts from the hearing, Hernandez and Baray had conspired with other suspects to kill 30-year-old Eric Morales at the Sinclair Station. Though neither fired any of the rounds in the confrontation that would send Morales and victim Jared Sanchez, 24, to the hospital with gunshot wounds, both allegedly helped plan a fake drug operation in Denver that would lead Morales to the gas station en route, where he would then be shot.

Witnesses allegedly reported seeing three or four masked men enter the Sinclair, and an account in court said Morales and Sanchez had been shot twice.

Hernandez and Baray fled the scene, but later gave statements when they were caught.

According to a Logan County Sheriff's Office news release, deputies responded to a report of shots fired at the Sinclair Station at about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday. Upon arrival, deputies located Morales and Sanchez with multiple gunshot wounds.

Advertisement

Neither are employees of the Sinclair Station.

Both were transported to the Sterling Regional Medical Center, and Sanchez was later airlifted to a Denver-area hospital. Their conditions are unknown at this time.

Susan Medina, spokesperson with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, said neither her department nor the Sheriff's Office could release specifics about what led to the shooting, as the incident is still under investigation.

Monica (Pena) Baray (Logan County Jail)

Both she and LCSO Lieutenant Joe McBride also could not confirm how many other conspirators were being investigated or when they would be charged.

"We're just a handful of hours into this," Medina said Monday afternoon. "It's very fluid. Now we're focused on following up on leads."

McBride also couldn't say whether or not the public faced any risk from any of the people being investigated, adding that "there's always that risk," but, "It's really an impossible question to answer."

Hernandez could face up to 48 years in prison if convicted of attempted murder -- a class 2 felony. But Baray (who also goes by the last name Pena) could face a life sentence.

Leticia Hernandez (Logan County Jail)

A lengthy criminal history stretching to 1999 makes her habitual offender eligible, according to Assistant District Attorney Brittny Lewton, and she faces an additional accessory to a crime charge out of Weld County after allegedly providing ammunition to a man who instigated a fire fight with officers in the county. She has an additional $100,000 bond from that case.

Hernandez wept during her hearing, but Baray looked stoic, even cool-headed through most of hers. She, too, cried when Judge Charles Hobbs confirmed that she faced the possibility of a life sentence and set her "unusually high" bond at $1 million.

"One million dollars is out of this world," Baray said in court. "I probably won't be making bond anyways, but one million dollars is out of this world."

She had started to make a statement earlier in the hearing, but opted to wait for an attorney when Hobbs reminded her that statements made in court could be used against her in later proceedings.

Lewton said Hernandez had very little criminal history, but that a high bond was necessary due to the aggravated nature of the alleged offenses and the danger to herself posed by suspects at large. The court set her bond at $500,000.

Baray will have a status conference at 9 a.m., Sept. 5, and Hernandez will have a status conference at 9 a.m. Sept. 14.

RE-1 Valley School District has announced its policy for determining eligibility of children who may receive free and reduced price meals served under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program.
Full Story